By Our Political Editor
Malefic or otherwise, political misfortunes seem to be afflicting both the Government and the Opposition alike in these turbulent times.
For the Government, no doubt, the burden is heavier. It had to battle on many fronts including mounting fuel prices, skyrocketing cost of living, an intensified separatist war, a crack down on the media where it sees as many traitors as the Tiger guerrillas and new threats of countrywide work stoppages. All this, conversely, should have translated into high-octane fuel for an Opposition to cash in on the seething public discontent and slow but sure isolation of the Government by the international community.
Alas, the main opposition United National Party (UNP) is in trouble too. There is a growing move to oust its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. It is gaining such momentum that other disturbing issues seem secondary for the remaining movers and shakers of the UNP. Just last year, 17 of them crossed over to the Government ranks.
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| Wickremesinghe and Kumaratunga discussing a point at the SLFP-M convention as Samaraweera looks on. Pic by Sanka Vidanagama |
The latest crisis began in the aftermath of the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) elections. One time Minister Johnston Fernando (Kurunegala District MP) and his colleague Laskhman Seneviratne (Badulla District MP) were spearheading the move for Wickremesinghe to step down as the party leader, and to move him sideways to head an Alliance of Opposition political parties. Those promoting the change say the UNP leader should be what Sonia Gandhi in India is to the Congress Party alliance, to function as the patriarch of the Congress Party with no official designation as party leader. They want UNP Chairman Rukman Senanayake to inherit the mantle of the Party Leader.
Fernando was introduced to politics by Rukman Senanayake's predecessor as UNP Chairman, Malick Samarawickrema, a very close confidante of Wickremesinghe. In fact Samarawickrema, an apparel industrialist, had his own advent into politics as a result of his close ties with Wickremesinghe. Thus, in the years past, they were a closely knit pair working in tandem.
Cracks, however, developed recently after the Eastern elections. Officially, the story did the rounds that Fernando and Seneviratne failed to attend a meeting of UNP's EPC polls campaign co-ordinators presided over by Party Secretary Tissa Attanayake. For this, party leader, Wickremesinghe, had admonished both of them.
Party insiders had a different version. They say both Fernando and colleague Seneviratne were not happy that Sagala Ratnayake (Matara District MP) was being given greater prominence, over and above other party seniors. Ratnayake was campaign manager for the UNP in the Batticaloa District where Fernando and Seneviratne were also detailed.
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| “Amathi Bara” (weight of ministers), a UNP demonstration on the rising cost of living in Kurunegala this week. Pic by Pushpakumara Jayaratne |
With the departure of the 17 MPs to the Government fold, the second rungers like Seneviratne and Fernando feel they have reached the tier of seniority of the Party. Many Party insiders have long complained that Wickremesinghe was working with a coterie of people, and gave as an example the fact that it was Ratnayake who was frequently picked to accompany him on his regular foreign visits. He had also made Ratnayake the Defence Spokesman for the party ignoring others. The Fernando-Seneviratne combine had also felt that Ratnayake had held the purse strings for the party's Batticaloa campaign. He had reportedly not loosened them when they needed help.
Last Wednesay, Fernando ruffled more feathers in the dovecotes of power in the UNP. He had met two of the party pole vaulters to the Government, Dharmadasa Banda and Mano Wijeratne and they were reportedly "plotting and planning" to oust Wickremesinghe. Party insiders say that Samarawickrema was not unaware of these moves. Also in the "oust-the-leader-campaign is Gamini Abeyratne (better known as Taxi Abey), a one time Chairman of Airports and Aviation Authority, another close friend of Samarawickrema with connections to Kandy where both have homes. In this backdrop, Wickremesinghe met with Seneviratne this week but not Fernando. He also had a lengthy meeting with
Samarawickrema in the company of a leading journalist as well to sort out the new crisis.
The move to confer UNP leadership on Rukman Senanayake had gone far. So much so, Senanayake who is in Russia (together with Galle District parliamentarian Vajira Abeywardena) to attend an Inter Parliamentary Union event was magnanimous enough to offer to relinquish the Chairmanship of the party. He was willing to demote himself. This was whilst Fernando and his backers were engaged in a campaign to shore up more backers in a coalition to oust Wickremesinghe as party leader. One UNP parliamentarian whom Fernando broached was Puttalam District parliamentarian Range Bandara. Also helping in the campaign was UNP pole-vaulter, Milinda Moragoda, the current Minister of Tourism who is reportedly preparing to shift from Combo East to Ratmalana in preparation for the next elections. Moragoda had telephoned several UNP MPs and urged them to support Fernando and Seneviratne.
It is no secret that a substantial section of the UNP membership had varied ideas of how Wickremesinghe gave leadership to the party. Some claimed he was not vigorous enough. Others said he did not speak out as a leader but left it in the hands of lesser-known party men to do so. Yet others said he travelled abroad frequently and was not consistent in pursuing issues against the Government.
However, those expressing these and other diverse views are not united together on what they should do to overcome the situation. Some even felt the party should forge ahead with a proactive campaign against the Government, particularly against what they called the Rajapaksa combine, and the cost-of-living issues.
Among them were UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake and Colombo District parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake. They argue the best way for the party to consolidate its position is to be assertive enough to highlight the grave hardships the Government was placing on the people, the media and the propaganda to mislead the people over the ongoing separatist war. Backers of this school of thought pointed out that a problem with Wickremesinghe was that he was not "hungry for power."
Several newly appointed electoral organisers however have asked for more time to mobilise the masses.
Another problem besetting the UNP leadership was the fact that most of their MPs were spending more time abroad than in their electorates. For instance, their national organiser S.B. Dissanayake, has one leg in Sri Lanka and the other in Australia. Nevertheless, he complains that the party leadership has kept him out of the loop. He was bitter that he had not been given a prominent role in the UNP campaign for EPC polls, only to come out publicly and say he would have won it for the UNP -- after the defeat. He also had another grouse - that Wickremesinghe was moving closer with SLFP-M leader, Managala Samaraweera than him. This is despite his having left the SLFP and joined ranks with the UNP much earlier.
But it is another story with Samaraweera. His aides complain Wickremesinghe had forgotten the formation of the National Congress with the former Foreign Minister. Instead, he was more focused on the new tie-up with Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and its leader, Rauff Hakeem. There certainly seemed several disconnections and wrong perceptions that had left an opposition divided.
Another example of UNP front liners being abroad is the case of Kegalle District parliamentarian Kabir Hashim. He was on a consultancy assignment in Pakistan for months. In addition, he is said to be now touring Europe on a three-week study tour. In the United States currently is Thalatha Athukorale, sister of late Gamini Athukorale, one time General Secretary of the UNP. With the Sabaragamuwa provincial elections due, two leading UNPers from the province are overseas.
To fend off these and other accusations, Wickremesinghe is planning a direct action programme from August. This is after he returns from yet another foreign trip, this time to France and Britain. He wants to bring Dissanayake into the inner fold. He is consulting legal opinion in this regard. This is in the light of a Supreme Court ruling depriving Dissanayake of his civic rights. The question is about his eligibility to take part in the campaign for elections to the Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provincial Council elections, especially questions on whether he should sit on Nominations Boards etc., Wickremesinghe has appointed Ravi Samaraweera (Badulla District MP) to be in charge of the campaign for Sabaragamuwa and Lakshman Kiriella (Kandy District MP) for the NCP.
The absence of party members who are abroad has prevented the UNP from taking early decisions on candidates for the upcoming elections. However, Wickremesinghe spoke with former Army Chief of Staff, Major General (Retd.) Janaka Perera in Australia this week. He will be the UNP's Chief Ministerial candidate for the NCP Council. In addition Wickremasinghe is expected to announce that Maj. Gen. (retd.) Perera will be the new UNP spokesman on Defence matters. The choice no doubt will be uncomfortable news to the defence and security establishment where the retired General has considerable following and support. Some of those in the security forces hierarchy at present were junior to him.
When the UNP's Working Committee meets tomorrow, the party's election campaign will be discussed. Some senior UNPers opine President Mahinda Rajapaksa is holding the two elections to make sure the UNP gets bogged down in polemics. They say he wants to win the elections by hook or by crook. Towards this end, they say, they are targeting Wickremesinghe in every way. When he returned to Sri Lanka after a visit to India, his entourage was prevented from travelling to Colombo along the Colombo-Negombo road. Government backed demonstrators were shouting slogans after blocking the road.
After Wickremesinghe accused Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, of being "a traitor" and not the journalists who were reporting the ongoing war, there was a demonstration outside Parliament.
Wickremesinghe raised a privilege issue and complained it was aimed at preventing him from attending Parliament. Sri Lankan envoys abroad do not extend to him the courtesies traditionally extended to the Leader of the Opposition when abroad by Sri Lankan missions. Hence, the Government has now placed a price on his head.
There seems a tragic irony that Wickremesinghe has become the object of scrutiny and criticism by both the Government and his own party. There is very little he lacks. He is educated, very well read and not tainted by allegations of corruption which easily stick to many others in the political arena. In power, he has demonstrated leadership qualities refusing to stoop to lower levels even to punish his own political enemies. He has both the humanity and humility to take criticism, give and take some instances.
Yet, he requires a few inexpensive things to win back the confidence of the people and his party. While one can't make a new man out of the 59-year-old Wickremesinghe, he needs to know that in Sri Lankan politics being a technocrat is good in government, not in opposition. In opposition one needs public relations as his mentor once said -- to convince the converts and convert the unconvinced. The sooner he does this and realises that his electorate is not Sydney, New Delhi, Bonn, Paris and London, the better. His voters are in Sri Lanka. On national issues, he must speak, and speak strongly and let his followers' follow than lead.
In this backdrop, the patron of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga sprung a surprise. She was one of the speakers at Thursday's inaugural convention of the SLFP-M at the New Town Hall. She said that she was attending the function in the capacity of a senior leader of the SLFP.
"I am told that the SLFP (Mahajana Wing) wants to remain in the SLFP and campaign that the SLFP continues keeping to its original policies. I believe that they will carry out their task without harming the party policies and work towards the welfare of the party. Sri Lankan society has been forced to face many challenges and that democracy is under threat while freedom of the people is being restricted.
"It is the duty of the government to stop this situation. You cannot accept the statement saying we can't do anything about it. The SLFP was built on solid principles such as the strengthening the freedom of people, democracy, good governance. Instead some are robbing public property. Unlike today, when the war was at its peak, during 12 years of my rule the country's economic growth rate was 5.5 per cent to 6 per cent and infrastructure was improved," she said conveniently forgetting the fact that in 2001, the year she lost the general elections, Sri Lanka for the first time recorded a zero per cent growth rate.
"If the basic rights of the people are lost, the quality of creativity and independence of the people are lost. The economy is affected. Also if a handful of people are immorally robbing the wealth of the country, the people will be poor and the crime rate will increase. Extremism does not fit the policies of the SLFP. If a fair solution is put forward to the people in the north and east, they would reject terrorism. While in the south the extremists do not amount to five per cent of the population and the majority of the Sinhalese reject the notion that others should live as slaves.
"It is not right for a government which is fighting against terrorism to act like terrorists. It would not be successful. There should be alternatives to end terrorism. The only solution to terrorism and terror is freedom and democracy, Ms. Kumaratunga said.
SLFP (Mahajana Wing) leader Mangala Samaraweera said that those who criticize the Rajapaksa family were being harassed and the country was heading towards a dictatorship. "The media are also being suppressed by the Rajapaksa family. The person who called himself the caretaker of the country is now stifling all democratic institutions. Media personnel are being harassed and intimidated. Some have been killed. Others have been abducted and assaulted. This impunity should end," he said.
Meanwhile, President Rajapaksa returned to the country on Thursday after attending a Commonwealth meeting in London over the week, He also met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other British political leaders. He gave an interview to The Sunday Times (please see page 1), and in an interview with the Foreign Editor of the London Times, the President slammed Britain and other western countries for adopting double-standards in dealing with terrorists. "There are no good terrorists and bad terrorists", he said, and pointed out to the funds collected in western countries, often by coercion to purchase weapons for the LTTE."
Rajapaksa said that he will not have peace talks with the LTTE -- despite the cost to civilians as a result of the insurgency -- unless the LTTE this time lays down its weapons first.
While there is nothing new to this statement, it only reiterates the fact that the Government is in no mood to soften its resolve on the war against the LTTE.
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